Street Fight Publishes 2nd Annual ‘Local Merchant’ Research Report

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The_Local_Merchant_Report_2013-cover image - squareThe holy grail of hyperlocal marketing is “right message, right place, right time” and right customer. For local merchants, those all hold true, but more than ever, they want new customers.

In the “2013 Report on the State of the Local Merchant,” Street Fight contributing editor Stephanie Miles gets up close and personal with dozens of local merchants who shared their desires, disenchantments, successes and failures in hyperlocal marketing. In a Street Fight survey, 40% of respondents said that “ability to drive new customers” was the No. 1 reason to spend local marketing dollars. Second most important factor was “ensure the right people are being targeted.”

Combining one-on-one interviews, published data and analysis from experts, the “2013 Report on the State of the Local Merchant” reveals a range of sophistication among local merchants.

Local merchants are jaded from their dealings with vendors who over-promised and under-delivered in the past. They’ve grown weary of vendors that promote untested technologies and complicated algorithms. Now more than ever before, these merchants are focused on achieving measurable, sustainable results. In this report, Miles brings her relationships and experience writing case studies and small business services coverage for Street Fight to produce a report that is vital to vendors looking to capture local business dollars.

 What’s at stake?

Local online advertising is a $24.5 billion market.*

To help hyperlocal vendors develop deeper relationships with local marketers and increase their bottom line, Street Fight has developed a playbook for anyone looking to increase their share of the hyperlocal space.

This 53-page report includes:

  • Industry analysis from hyperlocal marketing experts
  • Insider perspective into what SMBs want from digital marketing channels
  • Best practices for selling to local merchants
  • Reviews of the tools and features most frequently requested by merchants
  • Case studies of successful hyperlocal campaigns

Key findings include:

  • SMBs are putting more money into local advertising than ever before
  • The percentage of businesses that spent between $5,000 and $10,000 on a single local campaign has more than doubled since 2012
  • A majority of SMBs say the ability to drive new customers is the most important factor when deciding to run a local campaign
  • Local search and listing services have become a major driver of customer acquisition
  • Businesses say uncertainty about results is the most significant obstacle to doing more local marketing
  • Hyperlocal vendors are more likely to on-board merchants when they emphasize their own connections to a local community
  • More publishers are providing all-in-one digital marketing services to SMBs
  • Merchants report feeling overwhelmed by the sea changing in local business marketing
  • Eight-in-10 merchants say encouraging social media sharing is the most beneficial technique for on-boarding customers to digital loyalty programs

2013 Report on the State of the Local Merchant” offers insight into what is driving the unprecedented growth in the hyperlocal marketing industry, and provides valuable information on what motivates the nation’s 28 million small businesses to open their pocketbooks for spending on digital campaigns. It is available for $349 through this link.

*Source: 2013 Local Advertising Outlook, Borrell Associates
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